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What a pretty song and video! That still shot of your sleeping daughter in the princess dress was just too beautiful. She should get a big enlargement of it to hang on the wall of your home.

Did you ever dream when you wrote that for your daughter's kindergarten class that it would turn into a major production?!? Life takes wonderful twists sometimes.

Speaking of daughters, Robin, I finally decided that my daughter was old enough to read "Rhythm" (she turns 15 in a couple of weeks). She devoured it in a couple of days and said it was "very sad and disturbing" but also one of the best books she had read in ages. (And my daughter reads A LOT, so that is very high praise!) She now wants to take up drums in addition to flute and I blame you entirely.

I think your daughter was just right, Monika. Robin's book is going to be with us. English Lit profs will discover it; it will hit the Required Reading lists and then it will be discovered by people who will very publicly burn it in bonfires and make a fuss at school board meetings when they discover it's been in the library. The press will carry news stories about the fuss, Oprah will put it on her Book of the Week segment; Robin will be one of those talking heads in little sound bites. MSNBC and CNN will interview her openly and brazenly; Fox will make snide remarks but if anyone reads it over there (and they all will) it will be in secret.

I would read Rhythm again ten times before I would read Toni Morrison's Beloved again once, or anything by William Faulkner. Amy Tan already got her two reads.

In other news: today is the anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth I; happy birthday to the Suez Canal and the State of Oklahoma--- and, the invention (you could call it a birthday) of LSD.

Ostriches have two toes; elephants walk on their tiptoes. Little-known, but true.

Meanwhile, north of the Arctic Circle, the sun has set and will not rise again until well after the New Year. Observers at lower latitudes, however, report giant solar storms which have thrown up vast filaments of magnetism, with some modest Coronal Mass Ejections hurled more-or-less in our direction. So no sun for Scandanavia, but some very nice aurora borealis to more than make up for it. http://spaceweather.com/ has some gorgeous pictures of the Northern Lights on its front page (and the solar storm, too).

City folk may never see any mud to speak of, but wintertime backcountry hikers in California will know why that fairy is wearing boots. Glass slippers and ballroom pumps are magical in their proper place, but the freshness of the backcountry after the rain holds its own magic... if you have on nice boots.

Apple, glad you survived the latest choir director passive-aggressive fit. That's a great idea for a character by the way: The Passive Aggressive Choir Director.

Clef and Monica/Monika (Monika is Monica's evil German twin sister) you two MADE MY DAY with your comments. Thank you so much. Nothing could make me happier Monica, than knowing you've given Rhythm to your daughter to read. That's the ultimate compliment. THANK YOU.

I missed out on the Chelsea Clinton nuptials, but wonder if I can snag the William/Kate royal wedding gig. Now that's going to be a huladula. Wonder who the event planner is for the royal family. You can bet Kate doesn't have any tattoos, but then again you never know.

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

Every so often I play a private party for a man who has the most amazing home----one of those places where you can have 200 people in the living room and it's not crowded. He has a separate music room with a Steinway in it. The ceilings are quite high and the walls are hand painted with giant French tulips. Aside from one small seating area there's nothing in the room except for the very fine grand and, get this, a STUFFED OSTRICH. Mr. Moneybags is a collector of modern art and somehow this ostrich is a prized part of his collection. It's right next to the piano and is kind of creepy.

Monica, at my first German lesson I learned to say "Wo ist Otto? Otto Schmidt?" I'm still looking for him.

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

I missed out on the Chelsea Clinton nuptials, but wonder if I can snag the William/Kate royal wedding gig. Now that's going to be a huladula. Wonder who the event planner is for the royal family. You can bet Kate doesn't have any tattoos, but then again you never know.

My young friend considered modelling her upcoming nuptials on a Royal Wedding. But decided to go for something more permanent.

I wonder how many marriages have been solemnized to the tune of a jukebox. Let us not kid ourselves--- of course there have been. For today is its birthday: November 23, 1899. It played wax cylinders, the technology of the time, to which one listened through a tube like an ear-trumpet. Amplifiers had yet to come along.

The first jukebox appeared in a saloon in San Francisco, with the high-toned name of The Palais Royale.

The word, "juke" is speculated to be of Gullah origin, a similar word meaning 'rowdy, disorderly, or wicked.' So, of course, San Francisco was the perfect place for it to appear.

Its heyday may have come and gone, but it retains glamour of a certain kind (if tawdry--- but so what), in the minds of some of us.

Though a mere mortal newspaper employee, Lois Lane through some miracle managed to beat out Superman's 'close friend' Wonder Woman, and was joined to him in marriage in 1996 and on many other occasions over the years.

Since his first appearance in June 1938 (the month whose mention makes brides salivate), "...with the success of his adventures, Superman helped to create the superhero genre and establish its primacy within the American comic book. The character's appearance is distinctive and iconic:" (the same might be said of better brides) "a blue, red and yellow costume, complete with cape, with a stylized "S" shield on his chest...

"As Clark Kent, Superman lives among humans as a "mild-mannered reporter" for the Metropolis newspaper Daily Planet... There he works alongside reporter Lois Lane, with whom he is romantically linked. This relationship has been consummated by marriage on numerous occasions across various media, and this union is now firmly established within mainstream comics' continuity."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman

But you knew that.

Now, as for Lois. "When Adventures of Superman came to television in 1951, veteran movie actors George Reeves and Phyllis Coates took the leading roles for the first season. By the time the series found a sponsor and a network time slot, Coates had committed herself to another production, so the producers called on Noel Neill, who had played Lois Lane in the movies. She continued in the role for five seasons until the series went off the air in 1958.

"While Phyllis Coates generally distanced herself from the role," (which--- we hate to say it--- reminds us of Ginger) "Noel Neill embraced her association with Lois Lane, giving frequent talks on college campuses during the 1970s, when interest in the series was revived, endearing herself to audiences with her warmth and humor.

"Noel Neill has continued to appear in Superman related productions. She played Lois Lane's mother in a cameo for the 1978 film Superman" (and even appeared as Lex Luther's wife in a screen production) "...On June 15, 2010, the southern Illinois city of Metropolis, Illinois unveiled a statue of Lois Lane modelled on Noel Neill. Neill stated that she was honored to be memorialized with the statue.

"In her teens, Noel was a popular photographic model. While Betty Grable's pin-up was #1 among GIs during World War II, Noel Neill ranked next.[1] Noel also worked as a professional singer and dancer, signed up by Bing Crosby.."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Neill

A native of Minneapolis, where her father was a journalist, and her mother a dancer on the stage, she now resides in Tucson, Arizona. She was recently injured by a fall in her home, resulting in a broken hip. The Tucson area being well-known as a center for meteorite collectors, green kryptonite cannot be ruled out as a suspect.

I could use some green kyrptonite this weekend. If you run into Lois send some this way.

Today is my 53rd birthday and I shall spend it in a fairy costume—giving fuel to Greg's idea that I'm living in fantasy-land over here. We have two performances today and two tomorrow. Show is sold out! The fairies are in good shape. We had a dress rehearsal yesterday and the magic wands are in good order. Here is the cast breakdown:

Faxanna (the head fairy, she's in a wheelchair and the only fairy with any sense)Fatigue (the sleeping fairy, beautiful, but she snores like a drunken sailor)Farteeno (the goofy fairy who can't stop giggling)Flip (the diva fairy who thinks she's Ginger --this is my part)Flop (the child fairy who causes trouble-played by an eight year old)

Hopefully we'll have some happy kids this weekend—it's a fun show! Here's the plot: Hobo the giant rabbit is alone again this winter. Just once he would like to have a friend for holidays. He hears the snoring forest fairy and thinks his wish has come true. The tree tells him to hide because the other forest fairies are out looking for their sleeping sister. The rabbit promises the Fatigue he'll come back for her. Enter the nutsy fairies. They spot their snoring sister and spend the next 30 minutes doing a variety of slapstick things—including a bit with a giant rubber fish— trying to wake her. Finally they decide to leave her there until after the holidays. They sing a song for her before they fly away.

The rabbit jumps out, scares the heck out of the fairies, and begs them not to leave the sleeping fairy alone. "I understand what it's like to be alone!" he says. "Don't do it!" He suggests waking her up with a kiss on her nose. Hobo kisses Fatigue and she, of course, wakes up. The fairies invite the rabbit to fly back to fairyland with them. They give him a pair of wings, and off they fly. Happy ending.

It's Snow White meets Peter Pan meets Bambi meets Wake up Santa. I don't know where the rubber fish fits in, but it's very funny. That part of the show is scored with a bass/percussion piece called the "Stink-Fish Tango."

If I get it together, I'm going to some day write the rabbit-fairy wedding musical. What fun that would be!

Saturday night, after the fourth performance of the fairy play, I'll drive two hours to Schloss Hugenpoet (the von Furstenburg castle) to play a serious Thanksgiving concert arranged by a lovely American woman who lives over here. That should be nice—I just hope I can get out of fairy mode.

So—lots to do on my birthday weekend. It's also Thanksgiving weekend, and I wish all of you a happy and peaceful time with friends and family.

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

I can think of worse things to wear on your birthday - and your show sounds like a lot of fun.

Happy birthday and have a splendid day!

_________________________XVIII-XXXVIIFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

Happy birthday, Robin. Just 53--- you're so young. I'll tell you, if I could go back to 53...

Good luck on the rabbit wedding project. From what I can tell, it's all honeymoon and no wedding with those guys.

I haven't actually seen any green kryptonite with my own eyes since the days blacklights were popular. But maybe Lois keeps a stash in some lead-lined vault; Superman has been known to go loopy, and...

Today is my 53rd birthday and I shall spend it in a fairy costume—giving fuel to Greg's idea that I'm living in fantasy-land over here.

Well, turning 53 (We're the same age - beat you to it by a couple of months) supports the idea that you are in fact living in the real world, albeit a more commodious corner of it than most musicians get to see. In fantasy land you'd be, hmmm, what age would you stay forever if you could?

No that I've thought about it for a whole couple of minutes, I'm not sure I know.

"In fantasy land you'd be, hmmm, what age would you stay forever if you could?"

Gosh, Greg, I don't think I could stand up to 'forever'. I was in pretty good physical shape up until 45 (maybe I was kidding myself; let's knock off ten years--- make it fifteen--- to be sure). However, I'm in a nicer mental and emotional balance now that it's 'now.'

Maybe it's just that I don't expect as much. It must mean my brain is at just the right stage of shriveling.

But let's get real. Pick the age of the kind of person you'd most like to have sex with. I suppose we can get bored with anything, but your chimes would keep ringing for awhile.

We couldn't pick more than one, could we? Scweitzer says that in Bach's time, there was not one kind of trombone, but four, voiced just about according to the types of human voices.

Thanks for the birthday greetings. I'm back after a crazy but really fun weekend. The fairies were groovin', the woman playing the rabbit (who tends to be somewhat diva-like) behaved herself, and the tree did not forget his lines. Lots of happy kids at the castle.

I made it to my concert gig on Saturday evening with time to spare, and let me tell you, Schloss Hugenpoet was one beautiful place to play. The concert was a birthday gift for a man celebrating his 70th birthday. Beautiful Yamaha grand, lots of candles and rose petals, and because it was black tie, eighty very elegant looking guests. I played thirty minutes, right after the cocktail hour, when the guests had been seated for dinner. At one point during the performance I realized I still had tons of glitter from the fairy play all over my arms. But a little glitter never hurt anyone.

Dream job. I think the nicest part was that afterwards I got to go to my hotel room and order dinner—which, after a weekend of eating chocolate on the run with a troop of fairies, was divine. I took a long bath and chilled out. The next day I slept until one in the afternoon, which is very unusual for me. The last time I did that was in 1990, before I had kids.

The castle is called Schloss Hugenpoet and it belongs to the von Furstenburg family.

Now I am back to reality. Housework and office work have piled up, plus I have two more concerts and a wedding to think about in the next week.

Regarding the favorite age question? Hmmm. The funny thing about a favorite age is we never recognize it when it's happening. I mean, maybe it will turn out that my favorite age is NOW, but I just don't know it. Yet. I guess the trick is to stay alert and be grateful.

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Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

Sounds like a splendid weekend - and I'm sure the guests at the schloss were charmed by your glitter!

_________________________XVIII-XXXVIIFollow your teacher's instructions and practice wisely/much, and you'll soon wonder how you ever found it hard. BobPicklePerformance anxiety: make it part of your daily routine and deal with it...Cope! zrtf90

Okay, I'm sending William and Kate one of my CDs this week. I hear they are very hands on with the wedding planning.

The wedding coming up on Saturday has the dreaded Winter Wonderland theme. With the way the snow is coming down, I hope all of us can get there.

Time to drag out the Christmas music. I never play with music in front of me, so every year it's a big test of my memory to see how much of it has remained in my fingers from the previous season. Last year on the first day of playing Xmas music I got into a Carol of the Bells loop and couldn't figure out how to get out. Maybe I'll work on that one in advance this year. Then there are the German Xmas songs, which all have two and a half chords and sound alike, which makes me crazy.

Let it snow!

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

For once, you are safe. They are not going to be playing any CDs at their wedding--- I would gamble any amount on it. No need to send them the 'special edition.'

It is also just possible that Kate is not yet so jaded that she wouldn't appreciate the nice gesture. And now that I think of it, we don't know exactly what path the quarter takes when we put it into the jukebox, do we... or exactly how long it will take our song to boot up. But we can feel confident our number will play, all in good time.

In this context, I think that not playing at Chelsea's wedding could only be a plus for you.

Right, Clef. I was thinking the same thing. No need to send the "special edition" CD.

I am a great believer in putting myself out there. My dad calls it spaghetti flinging. If you throw enough noodles at the wall sooner or later one of them will stick. So I am flinging. May the noodle stick.

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

Geez, I think I just heard somewhere they are going to have rap music (Snoop dog sp?) at the reception. William's mother had much better taste in music from what I know. Sure hope they go with your beautiful music instead, Robin!

How many X-mas/Holiday standards that we hear here do they like over there in Germany, Robin?

Quick fashion report: Saturday's bride was just about perfect. She was in her fifties and wore a strapless sparkling white and silver chiffon creation with a very long train that had to be carried by little girls. Over the dress she wore a coat made out of fluffy white feathers (I'm sure Sally the duck and her colleagues were NOT pleased) and silver sparkle Jimmy Choo peep-toe shoes that had been delivered from London the day before the event. I know this because I was back behind the reception desk with my co-workers gawking at the shoes, which were quite possibly the most exquisite foot apparel I've ever seen. It helped that the shoes were a size 37 (about a 6 in American sizing) and looked like something Barbie might wear on prom night.

Musically the gig was easy. I was booked for the afternoon reception—coffee, cake, champagne—a warm-up for the big evening event played by my pal Thomas Prinz (is that a great name or what?) and his trio. I'm sure Thomas was there until the wee hours. At my age I'm more cut out for the afternoon/early evening engagements.

The bride had hired an extremely handsome photographer (maybe she ordered him from London, too) who was completely arrogant and obnoxious and insisted on storing his gear under he grand piano. He tried putting things on top of the piano, too, but I gave him the evil eye and put an end to that.

I would like to go on record as saying that just about every man I know cannot resist a flat service for storage of his stuff. Table top, kitchen counter, grand piano—it's as if these surfaces were designed specifically for piles of gadgets, papers, keys, and half-finished beverages. Women hardly ever throw things on top of my piano. Men are the big culprits. And male wedding photographers seem to think the piano was placed in the lobby as a special work space just for them. Remember the sugar cube pyramid incident? I'm still cringing from that one.

So that was it for the 2010 wedding season. I went out with a swish of silvery chiffon, a couple of runaway ostrich feathers, and a photographer who looked like George Clooney rummaging around underneath my piano, perilously close to my pedal foot. I'd say it was an appropriate end for a pretty good year.

Yesterday I played a really nice concert/reading for the International Ladies' Society of Bonn. I did a test drive of one of the chapters from the new book and was encouraged by the response. New book has been edited (by the masterful Richard Johnston, who did Piano Girl). I have fourteen more cocktail piano gigs this month. plus my big concert/reading at the castle on the 12th. December madness! But it's all fun, even when it's not.

Elssa, the Germans have their own Christmas standards, but they also recognize most of the American melodies. Many of the religious songs we know in the USA are based on old German hymns, so there's a lot of crossover at this time of year.

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist

The bride had hired an extremely handsome photographer (maybe she ordered him from London, too) who was completely arrogant and obnoxious and insisted on storing his gear under he grand piano. He tried putting things on top of the piano, too, but I gave him the evil eye and put an end to that...

So that was it for the 2010 wedding season. I went out with a swish of silvery chiffon, a couple of runaway ostrich feathers, and a photographer who looked like George Clooney rummaging around underneath my piano, perilously close to my pedal foot. I'd say it was an appropriate end for a pretty good year.

Hmmm.... if I had a man who looked like George Clooney rummaging around in the vicinity of ANY part of my body, I'd let him rummage.

Yeah, well it gave me all sorts of story ideas, that's for sure. Would have been nicer, though, if he hadn't been such a jerk. But he was extremely good looking. And having him under the piano was certainly better than the castle mouse or a five-year-old.

_________________________
Robin Meloy Goldsbywww.goldsby.deAuthor of PIANO GIRL: A MemoirRHYTHM: A Novel RMG is a Steinway Artist